Chapter 49: Heartbreak
"Have you entirely rejected the idea of becoming a god?"
"Rejected the thought?" Sol looked at her smiling face with utter confusion. "The thought has never even crossed my mind, Ikaris." He answered honestly.
"Ihave known you for ten years, I've personally and intimately known you for three months now, not to mention the many interactions I've been having with the gods of Arkadia-" He looked up from her at Renia, and Dr'ul, both of whom he was seeing in their true physical forms for the first time, Dr'ul in particular was more impressive than he could have imagined, she was almost four metres tall, while Renia was only three in comparison.
"I don't want to become a god," Sol declared, surprising the three of them.
[It is a shock to hear him say this] Dr'ul looked to her sister. [Considering his power, he by virtue already is]
[Who would refuse godhood?] Renia countered, both speaking directly to each other causing Sol and Ikaris to be none the wiser.
"Master-"
"Out of the question," Sol shook his head.
"Godhood in my eyes is more of a burden than everything else, right now, you're my sole responsibility, I tend to you, and that's it, but becoming a god would be binding me to thousands -if not millions of people, a god only exists for a sole purpose, I want to be free to make my own choices, and most of all, I have no idea what the outcome of Arkadia's problems will be." He looked at her seriously.
"If either of us join the Arkadian pantheon, or any other, we become incapable of fighting the demon god." He reminded her, and the other two goddesses narrowed their eyes at his accurate knowledge.
"I don't want to fight her, but she's growing stronger by the day, so if you end up unable to harm her, it'll rest on the shoulders of the heroes, and if they fail there's nobody but me who would be able to do it,"
"I understand," Ikaris smiled and rested her cheek against him again.
She would refrain from ever raising that topic again, because on the matter of godhood, he was already past the 80% mark of being one, after all, he had the demon-god transformation, and the demon-god candidacy, but he was right, godhood was far too restricting, which was why she doted on him so heavily, after all, he as her last subject to serve gave her free will as a god, the greatest gift in the universe.
"I'll be taking my leave then, Renia," Sol looked at the two goddesses, extending a passive glance to Renia, and then staring at Dr'ul with manic and hostile eyes as divinity sparked and exploded from within him.
Just the stare he gave her caused her to subconsciously summon her sword and growl at him.
[S-sister calm down!] Renia warned Dr'ul about acting outside of the challenges in Ikaris's presence, and besides that she had a feeling that Sol would refuse any challenge issued against him currently.
"Goddess of war," Sol calmed down, and Dr'ul turned her back stabbing her sword in the ground and hiding her face, but her hair flared up in flames, and her grin in the other direction caused the cosmos to tremble. "I'll be seeing you." Sol vanished with Ikaris in his grasp, leaving the two Arkadian gods.
[Are you okay?]
[I am quite thrilled, actually and intrigued.] Dr'ul replied with that sadistic blush she usually donned when Sol's name was mentioned.
[Intrigued?] Renia asked as her form slowly grew smaller and her appearances morphed into her human persona.
[Yes, I have seen gods love humans, but I have never seen a god in love with a human, and I have never seen a human adore a god as anything other than superior divinity, yet he treats her like frail glass, afraid to break her when he holds her, how fascinating] Dr'ul chuckled, and then vanished in a burst of flames before her sister could utter another word, leaving Renia standing alone and confused.
"Sir!" Sara greeted Sol as soon as he and Ikaris arrived in their room. "Lady Ikaris!" She smiled brightly at them both and curtseyed flamboyantly. "Welcome back, I take it you have gained some kind of insight?" She asked, and Ikaris gently stretched after being put to stand by Sol and then shook her head at the maid.
"It was merely a demonstration that has left me quite fatigued," Ikaris answered the maid and then turned to Sol who gave her a raised brow in question. "I wish to spend some quality time with master, could you please leave us?" She asked, and Sara's face went from concern to playful as she disappeared in the shadows without a word.
"Are you?" Sol gestured to Ikaris. "Exhausted I mean."
"Renia is strong, by no means stronger than I am, but it was bothersome having to hold back that much," Ikaris stood before Sol staring at his name tag that slowly spun above his head with [error] next to it.
"I figured with the power you can safely hold in a fleshly vessel you wouldn't be able to fight the seven all at once, but I must have been underestimating you." Sol nodded, standing in place as she slowly pressed herself to his chest and brought her hands to his pants.
"Master, do you mind if I do all the work this time, as a reward for spoiling and allowing me to act so freely?" She asked, and Sol gulped at the implications. "I wish to serve you," She smiled up at him as the crests across her body began slowly blinking and humming.
Sol's expression went from soft to serious as he stared at her conviction and accepted her request with an open mind. "Ikaris, do it to the best of your abilities!"
"Certainly~" She snapped her fingers, essentially turning his clothes to steam as she stepped back and removed her shoulder straps, allowing her dress to pool around her feet. "I will go above and beyond."
In the west wing of the castle Dina sat idly with an enthused Arla who was in the middle of explaining magic theories after getting a summary of Dina's new [creation] skill which broke down fundamentals and transfigured her mana into whatever she could imagine, when she saw Sara walking with another maid down the hall.
"Sara!" She called to the maid, who promptly approached with a curtsey.
"Milady, how may I be of assistance?"
"Has Sol returned?"
"Ah," Sara smiled. "Sir has already returned and is in his quarters with lady Ikaris, I am afraid you have missed your chance to speak to him for the rest of the day," Sara gave Dina a knowing smile and then curtseyed again. "Please excuse me," She promptly left, joining her friend and continuing her conversation.
"Shucks," Dina sighed and snapped her fingers.
"You show such evident interest in Master Sol," Arla chuckled with a teasing grin.
"I-I have no idea what you're talking about, I wanted to ask him more about what he said earlier about condensing my mana, even you've never heard the term before, so I wanted an explanation out of him." Dina huffed after speaking the entire sentence without taking a breath and then blushing afterwards.
"Mhm-mhm," Arla leaned her head with an even more teasing grin, but slowly that grin faded. "There are numerous others who have given you many reasons to look their way, and topping that list is Han himself, who has tried getting closer to you on many occasions,"
"I'm not interested in any of those-"
"Please give up on Sol," Arla stared up at her seriously all of a sudden, causing the young hero to furrow her brows and pull away from her. "It is pointless, you should know by now that he is beyond any attainment, it is impossible-"
"I don't want to," Dina Sighed and looked away.
"Eris has known Sol for fifteen years, and she is fine with remaining in the back seat as just an admirer, Ikaris who has given herself to him body and soul as she always exaggerated, has known him for ten years, I can't compare to either of them, I know that, Eris is amazing, she's gifted, brilliant, and she's the kindest person I've ever met in my whole life, and Ikaris is perfect in every way, only flawed by her complete devotion to Sol Vestic," Dina took her seat again and covered her burning cheeks.
"He never noticed me, not even once," Dina Shook her head. "I have been at his side for eleven years and he never once noticed me, because I never mustered up the courage to say a word to him until the day we arrived here, but I was so jealous of them that I blew it with the first sentence."
"So you lied when you told everyone you didn't know him or Ikaris..." Arla started feeling sorry for Dina as she sobbed and sunk next to her.
"I was too embarrassed," She rested her hands on her legs and then her forehead on her hands. "Every day since the third grade, I followed him to the orphanage, I know his favourite food, I know what colours he likes, I know how he walks and how he runs, I sat behind him every year in every class, even after Eris had gone."
"For eleven years I tried mustering the courage, he's very smart, so I had to work really hard to end up in the same college he chose after high school, but I could never even once get him to notice me, because he has always been surrounded by someone else, when it was not someone trying to bully him it was someone trying to be his friend... I...
I was so glad to see him after he'd disappeared for a month." She raised her head with her eyes full of tears and her lips quivering as she placed her hand over her breast.
"But he came back with Ikaris, She's super rich, she's so beautiful, and she's not even using him for anything, she's so in love with him that it sickens me, I can't stand her, I can't forgive her for taking my world, but she'll always be better than I am, and he's all over her too... I'm disgusted by them every time I see them together."
"If I had just been more brave, even in high school, or when I found out he was selling illegal stuff I could have offered to be his partner or something... Anything to get him to notice and like me..."
"Oh my," Arla stared at Dina.
"All this time I believed you hated him, but it was the opposite... Hm?"